DENVER — Philadelphia 76ers guard Reggie Jackson spent loads of time within the Mile Excessive Metropolis whereas enjoying basketball at Palmer Excessive College in close by Colorado Springs, successful the participant’s title Colorado Males’s Basketball Participant of the Yr for the 2007-08 season. So enjoying in Denver was notably particular for him.
As Jackson made his return to Denver, the place he spent a season and a half with the Nuggets, it was an emotional return. The Ball Area staff all gave him loads of love and he even obtained a tribute video from the Nuggets throughout a first-quarter timeout.
“I actually had no thought,” Jackson stated after the loss to Denver. “In order that was actually cool.”
Jackson performed in 98 video games over the 2 seasons with the Nuggets and averaged 9.8 factors and three.7 rebounds, together with all 82 video games within the 2023-24 season and averaging 10.2 factors.
“Actually, I used to be simply grateful,” Jackson added. “I am simply very grateful. It makes me really feel just like the time I spent meant one thing once I was right here, although it was only a brief keep and, I hope, I had an affect on some folks. It was actually cool. It is a first-class group. I am simply very grateful, grateful, and you then type of rapidly begin to end up prior to now.
The workers at Ball Area, specifically, needed to ensure Jackson felt welcome upon his return to Denver. It’s evident that the Boston Faculty veteran was capable of make an affect on folks throughout his time right here.
“It’s the very best factor ever,” he added. “You do every little thing you possibly can while you play the sport, however you hope you made an affect on others and I wish to be remembered as a terrific individual. I hope I made some connections good connections. Like I stated, it was the good factor to see the employees and workers welcome me again, examine on me, see how my household is doing, so it was nice to have these. interactions.
Jackson was a part of Denver’s 2023 championship workforce, the primary championship in Nuggets historical past. He beat present Sixers teammates Caleb Martin and Kyle Lowry in that remaining, each members of the Miami Warmth.
“I talked to him about it as quickly as I obtained right here, as a result of I forgot about it,” Martin stated of shedding the ultimate in ’23. “Then once I obtained right here, I used to be like, rattling. It is bittersweet to workforce up with him, as a result of I’ve all the time been a fan of Reggie and his recreation and every little thing, so teaming up with him has been nice, however clearly it is nonetheless fairly new to have a recreation like this one was extra bittersweet, so no, we joked about it, nevertheless it’s cool, we remembered it for positive.
Whereas there might have been some stress, Jackson is not one to shrink back from successful. He needs everybody to be at peace.
“I knew it might most likely be somewhat little bit of the elephant within the room,” Jackson laughed. “So, yeah, no, they’re nice. They’re nice, welcoming, and like I stated, we do not actually speak about a lot so it retains every little thing peaceable.”
That being stated, Martin nonetheless has bitter reminiscences strolling into Ball Area when the Warmth fell to the Nuggets in that championship spherical.
“Identical to confetti and every little thing, everybody’s partying, being the brief finish of the stick about it,” Martin recollects. “I feel it was arduous, then the bus trip, the sluggish bus trip, going by way of site visitors with everybody partying exterior the world. You continue to bear in mind issues like that whereas making an attempt to benefit from the run that you just had and the run that we had as a workforce and the success that we had as a workforce, so undoubtedly loads of flashbacks developing right here for that.”
This text was initially revealed on Sixers Wire: Reggie Jackson Reacts to Nuggets Tribute Video, Talks Finals 23
